“They’ve come up with a way to cross breed different types of plants, plants only, so they can be the natural resistance to bugs and worms and other things that they have to spray pesticides on to kill,” said Maluafiti.

Maluafiti also said protesting to shut down Monsanto means more than getting rid of GMOs in Hawaii, it also means losing local jobs.

“We employ 2,000 people, and we’re looking at a federal impact locally of $138 million. That’s going to be devastating to the people here,” said Maluafiti.

However, protesters said in the end it’s about the quality of the food we eat.

“The nutritional value is not there, the pesticide use does not help the land or the food itself,” said protester James Macey.

Protesters said this is just the beginning. There will be many more marches against genetically modified foods and Monsanto throughout this month. Some will take place on other islands.